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Works Thomas Girtin and Joseph Mallord William Turner after (?) John Henderson

Buildings on a Wooden Quayside

1795 - 1796

Primary Image: TG0839: Thomas Girtin (1775–1802) and Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851) after (?) John Henderson (1764–1843), Buildings on a Wooden Quayside, 1795–96, graphite and watercolour on wove paper, 22 × 12.2 cm, 8 ⅝ × 4 ¾ in. Private Collection.

Photo courtesy of Bonhams (All Rights Reserved)

Description
Creator(s)
Thomas Girtin (1775-1802) and Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851) after (?) John Henderson (1764-1843)
Title
  • Buildings on a Wooden Quayside
Date
1795 - 1796
Medium and Support
Graphite and watercolour on wove paper
Dimensions
22 × 12.2 cm, 8 ⅝ × 4 ¾ in
Object Type
Collaborations; Monro School Copy
Subject Terms
Coasts and Shipping

Collection
Catalogue Number
TG0839
Description Source(s)
Viewed in 2019

Provenance

Squire Gallery, London; sold by them, 9 May 1946; ... Bonhams, 10 April 2019, lot 240, as by Joseph Mallord William Turner, £3,812

About this Work

This view of a quayside reappeared on the art market in 2019 with an attribution to Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851). The subject bears a resemblance to a pair of scenes on the river Medway that Girtin and Turner made in collaboration at the home of Dr Thomas Monro (1759–1833) (TG0832b and TG0833). As with the many similar views of Dover, such as Vessels Moored in Dover Harbour (TG0816a), the Medway subjects may have been copied from sketches by the amateur artist John Henderson (1764–1843), who according to Joseph Farington (1747–1821) lent his ‘outlines of Shipping & Boats’ to Monro. The outlines, described by Farington as ‘Very ingenious & careful’, provided the basis for a substantial number of copies commissioned by Monro (Farington, Diary, 1 December 1795). The division of labour between the two artists, which saw Girtin making an outline copy and Turner adding a limited palette of colours, is not as clear here as in some cases, but nonetheless I suspect that Girtin was still involved in the work’s production. This is not least because the unconventional tall and narrow format, which is not found elsewhere in the work of either artist, together with the radical cut-off of the wooden building to the left, bears the hallmarks of Girtin’s generally restless and experimental attitude towards composition.

1795 - 1796

A Boat-Builder’s Yard, Possibly on the River Medway

TG0832b

1795 - 1796

A Boat-Builder’s Shed, Possibly on the River Medway

TG0833

1795 - 1796

Vessels Moored in Dover Harbour

TG0816a

by Greg Smith

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